Google Trekker Program Allows Off-Road Street View, Invites Available

Google has begun accepting applications for its Street View Trekker program, which gives volunteers a backpack camera to capture panoramic images from exotic locales around the world. The Mountain View, Calif., company’s Street View program captures 360-degree views using special camera technology that allows users of Google Maps to get ground-level perspectives of what they see online.

invitations to join its Street View Trekker program, where a backpack camera captures panoramic images from exotic locales around the world. The Mountain View, Calif., company’s Street View program captures 360-degree views using a special camera technology, allowing users of Google Maps to get a ground-level perspective.

In a similar manner to how Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Street View vans travel the streets of cities and neighborhoods around the world, the Trekker backpack program adapts the 360-degree-capturing camera into a wearable backpack. Google is allowing select third-party companies to photograph hikes on mountainous terrain or other exciting places off the beaten path, and interested parties can sign up here.

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The Google Trekker backpack weighs 42 pounds and contains 15 digital cameras to create its signature panorama. The 5-megapixel cameras snap a photo 24 times a minute, while two GPS receivers log location data, which the Trekker stores on solid state drives, or SSDs. The Trekker backpack’s dual lithium batteries last for eight hours.

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Google’s Street View Trekker backpack is currently only available on loan to third-party organizations such as tourism boards, nonprofits and higher-education groups. If you could, where would you take the Trekker?